Drain cock



A ril'zz, 1924. 1,491,622

G. B. PICKOP DRAIN COCK Filed July 16. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 22 1924.

DRAZIN COCK Filed July 16, 19,21 2 Shee1..s$heat 8 Patented Apr. 22, 1924.

LddLdZZ earn-err caries,

GEORGE B. PICKOP, OF NEW HAVEN,.CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 MALLEABLE IRON FITTINGS COMPANY, OF BRANFORI), CONNECTICUT.

nnarn cocx.

Application filed July 16, 1921.

the following is a full, clear, and exact de scription.

This invention relates to valve controlled outlets and more particularly to drain cocks,

oil cocks, vent cocks, pet cocks, or the like, used on steam or hot water radiators, and automobile radiators or oil cocks used upon crank cases of automobiles, and is applicable to any vent cock wherein a flow of fluid is adapted to be controlled by a plug valve.

The fluid passages adjacent the valves of this character are apt to become clogged with sediment or dirt, which settles to the bottom of the fluid container, and is drained into the passage leading to the valve by the flow of the fluid therethrough. As a result, the pas sage becomes clogged and the container will not drain when the valve is open. It is to overcome this disadvantage among others that I have designed the improved drain cock which will now be described.

One object of this invention is to provide a cleaning or agitating element mounted in the valve passage and actuated by the movement of the valve to clean or agitate the sediment which has accumulated therein and thereby prevent the clogging of the passage.

More specifically, I have provided a cleaning element which is attached to the valve and which will be rotated when the valve is opened to scrape the walls. of the fluid passage to prevent the clogging of this passage and cause the sediment collected therein to be carried out by the escaping fluid.

Another object of this invention is to provide a valve controlled passage of this character, wherein the valve stem may be directed at any angle relative'to the direction of flow of the fluid and wherein the valve controlling member may be located at any desired point.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an expansion chamber to receive the. fluid immediately after its discharge from the valve controlled passage, so that the pressure to which the fluid is subjected before its release will be relieved immediately after the valve is passed and thus pre venting leakage around the valve stem.

Serial .No. 485,283.

" To these and other ends my invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed. p

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a valve casing and valve embodying my improvements; 7 F1g. 2 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of theparts shown in Fig. 2; V I

' Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4- -4. of Fig. 2; v Y i Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 4; I

Figs. 6, 7, 8', 9 and 10 are detail sectional views of various modified forms of my invention.

To illustrate the principles of my inven tion, I have shownat 10 the lower portion of a container which may contain a fluid and which is adapted to be drained from time to time for various, purposes. This isthe case with hot water or steam radiators used in heating systems or with automboile radiators where it is necessary to drain them in cold weather and is also true of the oil cocks used uponthe crank cases and in other relations upon automobile engines and engines of other types, as these cocks are opened to determine the-quantity of oil in the crank case, and for this purpose are arranged at diflerent levels so that the level of the oil can be ascertained by observing from which cooks the oil will flow.

I have shown at 11 a valve casing provided with an upper threaded stem 12 by which it is designed to be connected to the container 10. As shown in Fig. 4 the valve casing is provided with an inletor lead passage 13 which delivers the fluid from the container inlet or lead passage is turned at'18 to ar-.

range for the valve and valve stem toentend at an oblique angle to the general direction Qf t e 1m Ofthie fluid and at the same time provide for the accurate and direct descent of the valve upon its'seat. It is obvious that with this arrangement the valve stem extends in the same direction as the axis or" the passage immediately adjacent the valve seat.

To control the flow of fluid through the inlet passage 1 have shown a valve having a head 19 which may be somewhat conical in shape and thus act somewhat in the nature of a needle valve, so that the efi'ective opening of the valve may be controlled by thev amount of movement thereof. The valve is provided with a stem 20 which is enlarged and threaded at 21 to cooperate with a correspondingly threaded opening 22 in the valve case. The stem 20 of the valve may be made or" any length desired and is preferably made long enough to extend to a point at which it may be conveniently manipulated. It may, as shown, he provided with a winged or flattened portion 23 for this purpose. A. cleaning element Ed is mounted in the i let passage leading to the valve and comprises, in the form shown a wire which is crimped or turned in the form of a helical coil having ends of cork-screw shape and may be and preferably is secured to the valve to be rotated or actuated in its movement thereby. The element 24 is in this instance connected to the valve by having its lower end 25 inserted in an. opening in the end or" the valve and the walls of the opening crimped or pressed in-ahout the inserted end until a firm connection is obtained. The cleaning element 24: may be made, it de sired in a variety of shapes and forms. instance, a cluster or group of wires may be used instead of the one wire shown, without departing from the spirit of my invention. The wire or wires used may be crimped in a single plane similar to the form of a wire hairpin or they may be helically formed. as shown in the drawings, with each end turned in spirally toward the helix axis and in either case when the valve is turned. the entire area of the passage will he scraped by this element, as it is moved longitudinally and at the same time rotated by the movement of the valve. Such an operation will effectually loosen and agitate any sediment which has collected in the passage and will aidthe passage of such particles of sediment past the valve, so that the opening will not be clogged and the drainagevof the tank or container prevented. The clogring up of these passages is a source of a great deal of annoyance and my invention 18 particularly advantageous in overcoming this defect.

The discharge passage 16 is slightly enlarged at the lower end thereof. asshown at 26 in Fig. 1, to provide a passage somewhat bell-shaped in form, so that when any particles of sediment have once passed the menses Valve, there will he no likelihood of their becoming clogged on the discharge side thereof.

The fluid when passing the valve and enterino; the expansion chamher 17 is at once allowed to expand and thus the pressure to which it has been subjected in the container is immediately relieved. There is for this reason no tendency for the fluid to be forced out around the threaded portion 2i. of the valve stem. as might be the case were this expansion chamber not provided.

it will be apparent that with the arrangement shown, the valve stem may he brought outat almost any angle to the general direction or" the flow of the fluid, as the lead passage may be turned at its lower end at any angle at which it is desired to extend the onerati stem. It will be apparent that the operat ng ends of the valve stems of various valves located for instance upon the engine of an automobile may be all brought in close juxtapositiom so that they may all he oper ated from a common point. For instan e. they may all be brought closely together under some portion of the hood. so that by raising the hood the valve stems will he at once accessible to open the oil cocks in the crank case or the drain cock for the radiator.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I have shown modified form or my invention wherein the passage 13 16- are so arranged that the valve stem extends upwardly at an oblique angle to the general direction to the flow of the fluid instead of downwardly, as in Fig. 1. The valve and valve seat are like the corresponding parts described in connection with Figs. 1 to 5 and the espain sion chamber 1'? is also provided in this form of the invention.

Fig. 7 of the drawings shows a type of my device sim ar to that shown in Figs. 1 o 5, but in which the valve casing is provided with a lower threaded nipple 12* in addition to the upper similarly threaded nipple 12. There may he some instances where it may he desired to connect a discharge tube or nozzle upon the lower threaded portion 12 of the valve casing.

in Fig. 8 l have shown another modified "form of my invention wherein the valve extends at right angles to the general reotion of the line of flow. With the exception of this difference in the arrangement of the passages 13 and 16 the other features shown in this figure are similar to those described in Figs. 1 to 5.

In Figs. 9 and 10, I have shown further modifications of my invention wherein the flow of the liquid is turned through its passage through the valve casing. In these forms of my invention the lead passage 13 is arranged in a general horizontal direcariations of the particular structure shown may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

That I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a casing having a curved duct, a valve to control the opening and closing of said duct,

and a flexible cleaning element attached to said valve said element extending from said valve into said duct.

2. In a device of the character described, a casing having a duct, a valve to control the opening and closing of said duct and a flexible wire attached to the valve and extending into said duct, said wire being corkscrew in shape to agitate the material in the duct when moved.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing having a duct, a valve to control the opening and closing of said duct and a flexible wire cleaning element attached to the valve to be moved thereby, the wire being bent into a spiral form engaging the interior wall of the duct to agitate when moved, the material in the duct.

4. In a drain cook or the like having a valve stem provided with a threaded portion whereby the valve is opened and closed, a passage cleaner secured to said valve stem, said cleaner comprising a helically wound wire. each end of which is turned spirally inward toward the axis of the helically wound portion.

5. In a drain cook or the like having a lead passage and a valve to control the flow of fluid through said passage, a cleaner comprising a. helically wound wire, each end of which is turned spirally inward toward the axis of the helically wound portion, said cleaner extending from said valve into said lead passage.

6. In a drain cook or the like having a &

lead passage and a valve to control the flow of fluid through said passage, a valve stem provided with a threaded portion whereby the, valve is opened and closed, a passage cleaner comprising a helically wound wire, one end of said cleaner being secured to said valve stem for-rotation therewith.

7. In a drain cock or the like havin a lead passage and a valve to control the ow of fluid through said passage, a cleanercomprising a helically wound wire, each end of which is turned spirally inward toward the axis of the helically wound portion, said cleaner extending from saidvalve into said leadassage, said wire at the helically woun interior wall of said lead passage.

8. In a device of the character described,

a casing having a lead passage and a valve for controlling the flow oi fluid through said lead passage, a tortuously bent flexible element within said passage, and means to rotate said element upon the opening of said valve.

9. In a device of the character described, a casing having a lead passage, a valve to control the flow of fluid through said lead passage including a. valve stem provided with a threaded portion whereby the valve is opened or closed by the rotation thereof,

portion thereof bearing against the and a cleaning element secured to said valve stem and movable therewith, said cleaning element comprising a helically wound wire extending into said lead passage and hearing against the wall of the same in substantially a single pitch helical path.

10. In a device of the character described, a casing having a lead passage, a valve to control the flow of fluid through said lead passage, a valve seat, said valve comprising a valve stem having a conical end cooperating with said valve seat, said valve stem being provided with means to move the said conical end into and out of engagement with said valve seat, and a cleaning element comprising a helically wound wire having one end secured to the valve stem and the other end extending intosaid lead passage, the helix diameter being substantially the same as the diameter of said lead passage whereby the Wire rubs against the interior wall of the passage when rotating to remove deposits therefrom.

In witness whereof, I have herewith set my hand this 13th day of July, 1921.

GEORGE B. PICKUP. 

